Omega's Rebirth

"My husband! He’s my husband!" Estelle blurted out.

The words were out before Estelle could fully process them, Estelle realized just how silly her claims sounded a little too late.

Did she even appear like a woman who had been married? Was there a look to it? Could it be told apart if one truly was married or not?

Estelle did not know, she did not know how any of this worked. But there was no taking back what had already been said, not if Estelle valued her life and Dante’s too.

Estelle’s heart ran cold, it was not her preferred method to resort to deceit, but given the circumstances, she was left with no choice.

Forest Tajmaé was completely unfamiliar to Estelle, even if Lord Farren let her go free at this time, how could she ever hope to find Dante on her own in a vast forest with magical barriers and over a thousand nymphs?

And if Estelle did find him, what came next? How was she to convince an entire clan of nymphs that Dante could not be a candidate for a blooming hunt?

Estelle knew she would only be another captive, such a thing could only be possible if it was the other way around...

If Estelle had been the one captured and Dante was making the rescue, then Estelle knew without a doubt that Dante would overturn Forest Tajmaé in a heartbeat...he was always so protective and reliable.

But Estelle did not have as much faith in herself and her abilities as she did in Dante.

Dante was a strong, all powerful dragon who could raze down a citadel and still come out unscathed.

Though Dante was currently without his dragon but Estelle could see that had not demoralized him in the slightest.

Dante was all that, while she was just... Estelle, the only imposing thing about her being her last name, Starron.

Even if Estelle began her search at this very moment, would she even find him in time or would Dante have already been forced to bond or worse?

What became of their mission then? Whether Dante knew it or not, he was already a principal part of all Estelle’s plans.

It was a mission Estelle knew she could not carry out herself. By the Creator, Estelle doubted she could make it as far as the nearest fort before dying of hunger.

And even if she did survive through it, how would Estelle face the Dragon King all by herself? Where would she begin?

’I need Dante... I have to save him at any cost!’ Estelle reminded herself when the guilt of deceit was just about to set in.

Lying to a kind old man like Lord Farren for a good cause could not be so bad, could it?

Estelle could not afford to think of anything else, she could only think of Dante. Of Dante’s safety, of Dante’s well being... nothing else mattered.

It was now left to if Lord Farren would buy into Estelle’s claim. Lord Farren seemed to know quite a lot about Fort Blazed and Estelle’s family.

He had even recognized Estelle immediately.

Estelle wondered just how much Lord Farren knew about Fort Blazed, would he know everything about her too? That she had not met Dante in over a decade before a few days ago and so they could not have been married?

Estelle could not tell, she could only keep a straight face and hope that all Lord Farren had said was as much as he knew of the Starrons.

Lord Farren’s eyes widened at Estelle’s sudden revelation, it seemed Estelle’s response was far from what he expected.

Estelle bit her lip to hide her nervousness as she waited for her words to sink in and trigger the desired effect.

It had only been a short conversation with Lord Farren but Estelle could already tell how much he valued the bond shared between mates and the union of marriage.

Knowing that, Estelle could only count on Lord Farren’s empathy, it was a risky bargain but it was the only card Estelle could play at this time.

"Truly? Then this is terrible!" Lord Farren exclaimed, shaking his head in deep concern. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"It is no wonder you have been so deeply worried, this must have come as such a shock to you." Lord Farren sympathized.

Estelle subtly searched Lord Starron’s gaze for a moment and when she realized he truly was convinced, she breathed an inaudible sigh of relief.

But Estelle knew she could not just leave it at that, she had to do more.

"It truly was..." Estelle replied in a devastated tone, sniffling.

It did not take much for Estelle to have tears streaming down her cheeks, with all the frustration and despair of the past days, Estelle had been holding in her tears this far.

"I was just going to sleep for a moment...I just... they took him away and I could do nothing to help him!" Estelle sobbed quietly, lifting a hand to her lips to hold in the sound and calm herself.

"Oh dear girl, do not shed tears. If the lad is already mated to you, then it is within your right to demand his freedom." Lord Farren assured, rising to his feet.

"But if we are to have any success, we must seek out which of the clans have taken him captive and to which nymph he was intended."

"We will begin there first and then I will speak with my clan elders and we will decide how we may help you."

"If the nymph in question can be reasoned with, this should blow over without much trouble. If otherwise... Lord Farren trailed off, shaking his head.

"Time is of the essence, Lady Starron! I have just heard word before you awakened that the tournaments shall commence tomorrow."

"And the bonds shall be blessed and sealed in three days! If your bonded is given out to another in this time, then it will be too late to rescue him!" Lord Farren continued urgently.

Estelle’s eyes widened, she had heard from the head guard that it would be at least a fortnight before the bonds of the blooming hunt were consummated.

But a fortnight had now become three days!

Three days, that was all Estelle had to save Dante and Creator knew what the nymphs would do to him if she failed.

"Then I will go with you..." Estelle said, quickly wiping her tears and getting up to her feet.

Estelle could finally do something and she knew with the help of the druid clan, Dante could be saved. All her efforts to see the clan leader in person would not go in vain.

"Lady Starron, you must rest for a little longer. I will see to everything, perhaps it is not the best idea to have you involved just yet."

"It is not unheard of to have a mate snatched from another, in the end, power must always come to play. I will not have you caught up in a strife just in case the intended nymph is adamant." Lord Farren attempted to stop Estelle but Estelle was not having it.

"No! I will not sit here like some pampered princess while Dante is out there, all by himself! I will not wait for him to be brought to me! I will not wait for the world to clear my path for me!" Estelle exclaimed, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"I’ve done enough of that all my life... everyone protected me, but I was never able to protect anyone. Not anymore..."

"I will protect everyone I care about now. With my own hands! With my own blood if necessary! And I will begin with him... with Dante."Estelle sucked in a deep breath.

"I don’t care who has eyes on Dante, I’m not opposed to a fight. I am Estelle Starron, I can hold my own in combat just fine."

"It would be a waste of your breath to try and stop me, so don’t. Just tell me what I can do for him... I will do anything." Estelle pleaded, angrily wiping her tears that just would not stop falling.

Lord Farren was quiet at Estelle’s outburst and he stared quietly at her for a long moment.

"I once witnessed your father defend your mother before his own blazed dragons...he was fierce, unyielding and so powerful! I stood in awe of his magnificence and the strength of their bond..."

"I never believed I would witness such a sight again...but you Lady Estelle, you are just as fierce." Lord Farren commended with a small smile

’Fierce?’ Estelle thought.

She could admit she was haughty and quick to anger, but Estelle did not know if she truly was fierce or if any of that counted for anything.

"Dante you said?" Lord Farren asked.

Estelle nodded slowly, still trying to calm her breathing from her outburst.

"He has chosen well, he is a lucky man." Lord Farren said with a nod.

"Come then, we must make haste." Lord Farren said, gesturing for Estelle to lead the way.